LBANY, N.Y. - Locked in a tight race, Hillary Rodham Clinton accepted the backing of New York's Liberal Party yesterday, and her Republican Senate rival, Rick Lazio, was embraced by the Conservative Party.
However, support for Lazio, who favors abortion rights for women, was not unanimous because of his views on the issue.
''I'm prolife ... and I don't believe he's as conservative as they say he is,'' explained Tom Clark of Nassau County as he cast the lone vote against Lazio, the little-known Congressman from Long Island.
In an interview with CNN after attending the Conservative Party convention, Lazio said he believed the antiabortion plank of the national GOP's platform should be removed, a position also being pushed by Governor George E. Pataki.
''I think it needs to come out ... It's a divisive issue,'' Lazio said.
Meanwhile the leaders of the Liberal Party met at a Manhattan hotel and endorsed Clinton's candidacy.
''Being a New Yorker is a matter of spirit, not a matter of origin,'' said Martin Begun, a party vice chairman.
He cited famed New Yorkers who, like Clinton, were born out of state, including Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan, who was born in Tulsa, Okla., and whose Democratic seat she is seeking.
Third-party backing can be critical in New York elections. Three-term Democratic incumbent Mario Cuomo was beaten by Pataki in the 1994 governor's race on the strength of the 328,695 votes he received from the Conservative Party.
Unlike other states, New York allows major party candidates to count votes they receive on third-party ballot lines.
No Republican seeking statewide office in New York has won without Conservative Party support since 1974. At the same time, no Democrat has been elected governor or US senator in New York without Liberal Party backing since it was founded about 50 years ago.
The Liberals in the past have backed New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani and other candidates of various political affiliations.
''I respect the history of this party,'' said Clinton, standing next to party boss Ray Harding, who called himself ''a close friend'' of Giuliani, who had been Clinton's main opponent.
The developments could spell the difference in a close race. By the numbers, the advantage would appear to go to Lazio, who became the GOP's candidate after the New York City mayor withdrew from the race May 19 to battle prostate cancer. Recent polls show Clinton and Lazio in a statistical dead heat.
The Conservative Party had 171,496 members, and the Liberal Party had 92,074 members as of March, according to figures from the state Board of Elections.
